Double Flee A

MSNBC - Schiavo feeding tube removed: "'Right now, murder is being committed against a defenseless American citizen in Florida,' House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas said in an earlier statement."

That almost makes it seem like he isn't the same guy that implied god was responsible for that tsunami. Too bad my memory works or I might think he was a human being, complete with feelings.

How are we to make heads or tails of this contentious issue when the news people prefer to have us hip-deep in hyperbole, grabbing for straws of their making in the endless news cycle? Come to think of it, how responsible is the media circus for the attention she's getting, and for her continuing silent suffering that no one can even comprehend?

It is a widely known fact that life is a meaningless existential hell. There is really no disputing this, philosophically, that I know of. There's not even a competing philosphy that is equally viable. It is easy to understand that most people are reluctant to admit or acknowledge that this is the case. Lots of people prefer the myth of meaning and "choose to be chosen" by a god of their own imagining to get them through the day without going crazy. In my opinion it takes a braver soul to look into the heart of oblivion and come to terms with it than to rely on a group hallucination that everyone involved (for some reason) decides is benevolent. If I'm not mistaken, the lesson Buddhists are after amounts to "Yeah, it's all meaningless. Everything amounts to so much noise. So now that you know this, cheer up." I get it and so do all of you. Seeking meaning is silly, futile, and normal.

So we've got this woman who's brain dead in a persistent vegetative state, and some people who think she ought to be kept there indefinitely and some who want her to be able to die, already. Both sides consider themselves merciful, especially moreso than those on the other side, and they can all tell you why with no trouble at all, and feel completely justified in their reasoning. What this tells us is there is a difference in the basic makeup of these people's belief systems. But we already knew that.

When people want to say when other people will die, as in the death sentence, I understand that concept, though I disagree with it. If you want to follow the ten commandments so closely, fucking do it, and don't kill people. Call me old-fashioned, but there's also something about "blessed are the merciful" that seems not to include electrocution.

But when these same people also say that other people shouldn't be able to say when babies are allowed to be made out of their own bodies, that's stupid. Here's what we know. Females' bodies make babies in the whole wide animal kingdom. It's not proven that babies are made by Jesus or his daddy, nor any combination of some abstract concept of those two in collusion with the holy ghost. So why should the "holy" people who Jesus and his daddy sent here, be in charge of when momma's body does or doesn't squirt out a pleasant-looking, gurgling baby? So there's another incongruity.

Euthanasia, mercy killing, is an important issue with less miles on it than either of these former two. Neocons hate this issue because it strikes at the heart of the weakness of the myth of creation by intelligent design. Which is that it is, physically, demonstrably absurd and impossible hokum, and metaphysically, a complete disappointment. In spite of this, these deranged folks still insist that their faith compels them to tell everybody else how to live, whom to kill, and whom to keep on life support until hallelujahville swoops down and yanks her soul away.

The philosophy of theism: The universe and everything in it is too complicated to just "be", therefore it must have been created by a "god" that just "is". No wonder there's a disconnect that people have to work pretty hard to ignore. Ah, sweet denial. The nicotine of the soul. In case you didn't know, the two competing worldviews are duking it out on a daily basis on the backs of cars and trucks. This is getting silly.

Extemely silly.

The entire bible-jacking neocon movement is driven by a righteous soundbite culture, and there's no escaping the nuances of this issue. "Hey hey, ho ho, euthanasia's got to go" misses the point, and that's all you've got outside a mandate for life at any cost of pain and suffering. And when serious people sit down to seriously discuss serious issues, bullshit has to go out the window. And that is why in a serious dialougue, "god", the idea, isn't going to have any effect on Terri Schiavo living or dying. If god wanted to intercede, maybe he'd wake her ass up. It looks to me like he wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire. Pointing that out gives me a guilty sort of pleasure. When you're right, you might as well enjoy it.

Where do you fall on the issue? I think they ought to let her die. Number one, I know it's not any of my business. Number two, if it was me lying there I wouldn't want to be a burden, and my death could mabe even be a lesson in how people should perceive "mercy". Let's start acting like we're all responsible for each other's well-being around here.

posted by dale @ 11:48 PM